Americans like to think of their country as the greatest in human history. This is repeated so often that I wonder if people are trying to convince themselves that this is indeed true.
If we look at the 20th century, there is a good argument for America as the greatest country, even with its flaws. Following the attack on the U.S. naval fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941, the country commenced the largest military buildup in human history within a short time. Without America, the war in Europe would not have been won against the Nazis, though the Soviet Union was also of great assistance in bogging down Germany on the eastern front. In conjunction with the buildup, the Manhattan Project was initiated in which America set a goal to build an atomic weapon ahead of Germany and Japan. In the end, the war was won and America set into motion the Marshall Plan which was to assist Western Europe to rebuild after the devastation of the war.
America's can-do spirit continued into the 1960s with the space program and President Kennedy exhorting the country to put a man on the moon by 1969 which was a phenomenal achievement. During this period, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was also passed which marked the greatest transformation in civil rights of any country on the planet. Then, after political assassinations and the entanglement of the Viet Nam War, America seemed to lose its way.
There is an argument to be made that America is not the country it once was. Something is happening in America that is different from anything experienced in modern times. There have been riots before such as in 1992 after the Rodney King beating by police, but there has never been such a sense that freedom of speech, a free press or that the ownership of private property could be under assault.
The rioting of 2020 is no longer about police racism or discrimination of blacks. It is about the tearing down of every institution associated with "white privilege". It is, in fact, a form of racism but in reverse. I get tired of every slight described as racism. I know a bit about racism. As a child in Canada in the 1950s, racial abuse was hurled at me with shouts of "dirty Jew" on numerous occasions. However, I did not let that control my life.
Unfortunately, the masses of young people today do not even know what it is they are tearing down. The statues of people who supported the elimination of slavery are under attack. It is an attempt to eliminate anything that smacks of the past. The mobs are about destruction, not construction. Their goal is the destruction of capitalism and the imposition of a communist or socialist agenda. The actions are directly from the playbook of these political movements. The socialists and communists have come out of the closet and unfortunately, all sectors of American society are pandering to the anarchists. This is heading into dangerous territory.
The protestors have sinister plans for those who don't adhere to their ideals. Does that sound familiar? History can and does repeat itself. In 1938, the Nazis unleashed Kristallnacht ("the night of broken glass") during which Nazi youths rioted and stormed Jewish stores, smashing windows, attacking and raping women with a multitude of Jewish citizens killed. This was sanctioned by the state and authorities did not simply ignore what was going on, but they were complicit in the rampage. So when we see politicians in America sitting idly by while anarchists smash into stores, looting and assaulting, it is not a far cry from what happened in Nazi Germany.
The actions of the young today were set in motion decades ago with the educational systems espousing idealized socialism rather than giving a historical perspective of the damaging effects of socialist movements. The estimate today is that 95% of university professors are ideologically left-wing, while conservative ones are in a very distinct minority. As professor John Ellis states, "You can't have a serious debate about the issues when one party is missing."
I am reminded of the poem by Martin Niemöller:
First, they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
The only thing that has stood between the totalitarian regimes of the past 100 years has been America. On its current journey, the country is self-destructing from within which only weakens it externally. To think that the USA could descend into a socialist state seems unthinkable. Regimes such as Communist China, Russia, Iran and a few others are just waiting for the transformation of America. That is their goal.
While here in Australia we may feel smug that we have it so good and we think it's the best place to live, we also shouldn't regale in America's misery. It's not just an American problem in this globally integrated world. Who will we in Australia depend on; China? If you appease dictatorships you sell your soul and ultimately your country. If America goes down, freedom everywhere will suffer. Let's hope that sanity prevails and law and order, the hallmark of civil society is restored and that the current tumult is just a historical blip. Otherwise, the future looks bleak.
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